We left Cape Town to head for the heart of the winelands, Stellenbosch. On the advice of our hostel, we took a train, despite this being advised against in our guide book. Somehow we managed to get on the train at the wrong platform and rather than going to to Stellenbosch, we ended up in the Cape Flats, which is, shall we say, a less desirable neighbourhood!! Some very helpful railway workers and security guards helped us get back on track. I don't think the Cape Flats residents had seen backpackers before! We were very relieved to get to Stellebosch without incident. No more South African trains for us!

Stellenbosch is a lovely town full of Cape Dutch architecture and nice restaurants. Our hostel had a pool.but it was a bit cool for a dip, despite the cloudless weather continuing. We a wine tour of 4 vineyards, taking in Paarl, Franschhoek and Stellenbosch

. It was very interesting to learn about how the wine is mde and the history of winemaking and after that the tasting commenced!

We picked up our 1980s VW Golf hire car and headed to Franschhoek ("French Corner" in Afrikaans). Julie was very excited by the fact that all the places had French names, but sadly no one spoke any French (they effectively made it illegal soon after the French arrived in the late 17th century). Being the self-proclaimed "capital of eating and drinking", we treated ourselves to a very nice meal that evening. The next day we travelled on to Villiersdorp to see my grandmother Elise who was very pleased to see us...as was her 4 month old puppy which was very excitable! We returned to Stellenbosch via the scenic Franschhoek Pass and the next stop is the "Garden Route", the southern coast of South Africa. We will be travelling on the backpackers "Baz Bus", hopefully less of an ordeal than the train!